Once the capital of the princely state of Saurashtra, Rajkot was founded by Vibhoji, the younger son of Ajoji. It is the town where Mahatma Gandhi spent the early years of his life. The city, also a former British government headquarters, has a number of impressive colonial buildings and educational institutions. It is famous for silver, textiles and a National weaving institute which promotes traditional weaves. The pleasant town is an important  industrial area and a religious centre of the Arya Samaj .

Vibhaji Jadeja and Raju Sandhi founded Rajkot (the City of Princes ) in the year 1610. Vibhaji is said to have cooperated with the Mughal army for which he received some villages as a gift for his services. This bustling city was once the capital of the princely state of Saurashtra and the headquarters of the British Government Headquarters. It became the administration centre of the British after the treaty of 1818 imposed by Colonel Walker on behalf of the East India Company, which finally helped freeze borders between nearly 200 kingdoms. Today it is best known as the town where Mahatma Gandhi spent the early years of his life when his father was a Diwan or Prime Minister to the king of Saurashtra. Mahatma Gandhi spent his early years in Rajkot while his father was a Diwan to one of the Saurashtran Nawab, and the house where Gandhi lived is now a museum named Kaba Gandhi No Delo. He went to school in here ( Alfred High School , now known as Mahatma Gandhi High School ). Mahatma Gandhi is also said to have married Kasturba in Rajkot , although she too, like Gandhi, was born in Porbandar. Gandhi started his famous Rajkot Satyagraha from the Rashtriya Shala in Rajkot .

After Independence , it became the capital of Saurashtra State . It hosted the State Assembly for the state. Uchhrangrai N. Dhebar(known poprularly as Dhebarbhai) was The First Chief Minister of Saurashtra State . Later, he was named as President of All India Congress Committee. Balwantbhai Mehta was The Second Chief Minister for the states. When states were created based on Spoken Languages, the city along with Saurashtra State was merged into newly formed Gujarat State . Today Rajkot is a city vibrant with business activities and one of the major cities of Gujarat  

State : Gujarat
District(s) : Rajkot
Coordinates : 22.3° N 70.8° E
Area : 69 sq
kmsElevation : 134 m
Time zone : IST (UTC+ 5:30 )
Population (2005) : 1,252,400
Codes : Postal :360 001/2/3/4/5/6/7
Telephone :+91-281
Vehicle :GJ
Languages : Gujarati, Hindi, English